AIBU to say if you have a cough get a test

[ShouldWeChangeTheBulb]

I’m getting increasing pissed off with people online and IRL about not getting tested because ‘it’s just a cold’ or it’s ‘obviously not Covid’. FWIW I don’t get annoyed if someone visits family even though their not supposed to in their area. I think it’s inhuman not to have social contact so I can understand that but for god sake if you actually have symptoms lockdown straight away and get tested. I know it’s a pain in the arse but not wanting to do something is not a good reason for not doing it.
For context we are currently locked down as DS has it (he caught if from his teacher). When I tell people his symptoms I’ve lost count of how many people say ‘my dd has those symptoms but she had a runny nose last week so it’s just a cold’. You cannot tell if it’s Covid or not, the symptoms can be the same as any other illness.

@ShouldWeChangeTheBulb pipe down at no point have intimated that I'm not isolating

@DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon

To be fair if we are not testing people with a runny nose then we dont know if theres an association.

Any new cough needs testing or isolation. Its really not that fucking difficult, persistant basically just means not a one off. If you choke that is not a persistent cough. If you have coughed multiple times in one day and you werent coughing last week you have a new cough

If its not a new cough, you have copd or asthma or something then obviously you dont need a test.

But if you have a new cough you need a fucking test. The problem is if people are going 'oh its only a cold' and not isolating they are spreading it, you need everyone with covid to isolate to stop the spread.

Tbh if you have all 3 of the main symptoms you dont really need a test you just need to isolate.

There has been plenty of research monitoring Covid patient symptom spectrum, not least the app developed by Kings College and ZOE to track prevalence and symptoms.

@WhenISnappedAndFarted
Most of DS’s class have been tested and they all got them okay. I also have friends in other parts of the country who got tests. You need to sit for a while re-freshing.
They took a while to come back though.

Yanbu

@Zoecarter

I have just had a positive covid result no temp small cough smell ok. Feels like I just have a cold (runny nose)

What made you go & get tested?

How did you get a test without one of the three main symptoms?

Not being funny, genuinely interested

I really don't think so. I did a run today and coughed a bit at the end of it. Are you really suggesting that if I then cough twice more in 24 hours (which I almost certainly will and may have done already as I know I coughed at least once while out in the cold this afternoon) I should contribute to the demand for tests?

The fairly dramatic drop in temperatures this week is going to make a lot of people have coughs and sniffles.

A small cough is enough to get a test. As long as you have coughed more than three times in 24 hours.

I try to the right thing because I think it's the right thing to do, OP.
That is my motivation for doing the right thing.

I don't get het up if other people break rules or make other decisions when the possible harms are only theoretical.

I hope you & your family continue to be relatively well.

Where I am, it is a bit of a hassle to get a test but it is possible. Last week our students (I work in a school) were struggling to get tests. This week things definitely seemed quicker (both getting tests and results coming back) with some kids and staff back within a couple of days from symptoms starting . As a school we have no way of knowing whether we should be closing bubbles or tracing contacts unless people within symptoms actually test. We’re totally blind without the testing and if people refuse we’ll end up with a full scale outbreak that close our whole school. It’s really frustrating.

The main symptom of coronavirus is almost certainly no symptoms at all, particularly in very low risk individuals such as children, indeed this actually means that any symptoms you see in children that test positive aren't covid symptoms, but simply another infection they have at the same time. Has your child spent any time where they could get a respiratory infection - yes they have covid - so there's a good chance they've also been exposed to the common cold.

It is important not to waste tests - as it delays people with symptoms where there's a very high chance it's covid from being tested and their contacts traced.

Do not test for any cough.

Bloody hell no wonder the tests are in short supply.

@cologne4711
I think if you coughed because you always cough at the end of a run. Or you usually cough a few times in a day anyway then it’s not new.

@ShouldWeChangeTheBulb

A small cough is enough to get a test. As long as you have coughed more than three times in 24 hours.

Why do you keep saying coughed more than 3 times? Are you deliberately misunderstanding the guidance?

Do not test for any cough @sirfredfredgeorge so you think we should all make it up as we go along?

@lifesalongsong - define a coughing episode for me please then?

A cough that is the same amount that you normally cough in a day is not “new” and does not need a test. If you normally cough 3-4 times per day then coughing 3-4 times in a day does not warrant a test. If you are coughing more than normal or have episodes of coughing 3 or more times in a day when you don’t normally cough, then you test.

@MadameMinimes
Thank you a voice of reason

[quote ShouldWeChangeTheBulb]@lifesalongsong - define a coughing episode for me please then?[/quote]
Like I already said there could be uncertainty about the definition of episode but I can say with about certainty it is not one single cough yet you persist in saying coughed more than 3 times

I really think most sensible people on hearing someone coughing would be able to identify an episode even if they can't give a prescriptive definition with absolute precision.

@DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon Absolutely, which is why she tested. My point was that she should have quick access but if everyone who coughs once gets tested, she will and did find it hard to get a test.

The guidelines sent out by our local authority to all parents at primary schools in North Tyneside include the below:

“Common cold symptoms

Children with simple cold symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat or a mild cough without a fever who would normally have attended school in normal times should go to school and not be tested for COVID 19”

I assume since they don’t have the millions of daily tests they’d need to check everyone with any cough they are attempting to target people more likely to actually have Covid.

@lifesalongsong I will type out ‘coughing episode’ from now on so you don’t feel I am deliberately miss-representing the guidelines.

If local guidelines are different due to lack of tests then obviously follow them. But they are not the guidelines where I am.

Consider that your argument for just ANY new cough requiring a test is irrelevant. The majority of those with a cough will have a cold. And much of Covid is asymtomatic in young and healthy people anyway, including children. So should everyone just be tested everyday just in case? Where would you draw the line? This seems like an exercise in futility.

[quote ShouldWeChangeTheBulb]@lifesalongsong I will type out ‘coughing episode’ from now on so you don’t feel I am deliberately miss-representing the guidelines.[/quote]
You're saying that like you're doing me a favour rather than being accurate

I draw the line at a new continuous cough.